All articles by Michelle Cohen

Michelle is a New York-based writer and content strategist who has worked extensively with lifestyle brands like Seventeen, Country Living, Harper’s Bazaar and iVillage. In addition to being a copywriter for a digital media agency she writes about culture, New York City neighborhoods, real estate, style, design and technology among other topics. She has lived in a number of major US cities on both coasts and in between and loves all things relating to urbanism and culture.
$3.5M classic Noho loft has just enough luxe to make it a new-condo competitor
June 29, 2017

$3.5M classic Noho loft has just enough luxe to make it a new-condo competitor

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On the seventh floor of a Noho loft building at 46 Great Jones Street overlooking the fashionable neighborhood's cobblestone streets, this 2,000 square-foot loft-lover's dream of a co-op contains plenty of loft details and just enough dazzle to appeal to buyers of a $3.5 million properties in 21st-century Manhattan. Celebrity cachet is included: 6sqft just reported that Sheryl Crow's super-cool loft in the same building just sold for $2.72 million.
Take the tour
Map: Where to watch the Macy’s fireworks this July 4th
June 28, 2017

Map: Where to watch the Macy’s fireworks this July 4th

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Here's a handy guide outlining some prime spots for experiencing Macy's Fourth of July live fireworks extravaganza this Tuesday evening; in addition, the folks that put on the show have provided a helpful interactive neighborhood finder so you're well situated when things go boom. Take a fun quiz here, then find out the best spots to watch from. Or just check out some prime spots here.
More info this way
$1M Upper West Side townhouse duplex has a terrace and a fireplace for all-season character
June 28, 2017

$1M Upper West Side townhouse duplex has a terrace and a fireplace for all-season character

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A one-bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side for around a million seems almost too good to be true as it is; this townhouse duplex at 172 West 82nd Street is all that plus a terrace and a wood-burning fireplace for $1.01 million. While the interior reads more East Village than Upper West with two walls of exposed brick, a fresh renovation is uptown-efficient. This walk-up co-op is in a charming bay-windowed brownstone on an equally charming tree-lined block.
Get a closer look
Recent breakdown spurs demand for better subway escape plans
June 27, 2017

Recent breakdown spurs demand for better subway escape plans

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After experiencing a big dose of the NYC “train pain” that seems to be reaching epidemic proprtions lately, subway passenger Michael Sciaraffo has launched a campaign against the MTA for what he feels are lousy safety standards. After being “trapped on a sweltering F train" that got stuck in a tunnel during a recent “colossal breakdown,” Sciaraffo was mad enough to demand that straphangers be provided with a better protocol for escaping to safety in the event of a mass emergency. The city's already-strained subway system moved 5.6 million passengers a week 2016, leading to a reported 70,000 delays per month over the last five years according to NBC New York.
So how do we get out of this thing?
With two terraces and a fireplace, this $1.6M Chelsea duplex feels like a compact house
June 27, 2017

With two terraces and a fireplace, this $1.6M Chelsea duplex feels like a compact house

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This pint-sized penthouse perched atop an elevator building at 368 West 23rd Street in West Chelsea manages to pack everything you need into two levels of renovated, sun-filled space and look good doing it. Asking $1.6 million, the one-bedroom co-op is freshly renovated with two full baths, new hardwood floors, central air conditioning, a wood-burning fireplace, and a washer/dryer. But it's the impressive expanses of terrace that make the biggest impression.
Get a closer look
Cuomo unveils winning design for NYC’s first public monument to LGBT people
June 26, 2017

Cuomo unveils winning design for NYC’s first public monument to LGBT people

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To coincide with pride weekend, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that artist Anthony Goicolea had been chosen to design the first official monument to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to be commissioned by the State of New York. According to the New York Times, the statue will be built near the waterfront piers in Hudson River Park. The monument's design features nine boulders bisected in places with glass, which can act as a prism, emitting a rainbow pattern. Governor Cuomo formed the LGBT Memorial Commission after the deadly attack at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. in 2016; A request for designs for a new memorial went out in October of this year. Hudson River Park's waterfront piers have figured prominently in the history of the city's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Find out more
$3,500/month West Village rental is flexible, functional, and fun
June 23, 2017

$3,500/month West Village rental is flexible, functional, and fun

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This parlor floor co-op at 135 Perry Street in the West Village is more than meets the eye: Listed as a one-bedroom for $3,500 a month, it’s configured as a studio–and according to the listing, it was once a two-bedroom. So whatever you imagine for the space, it could be a reality. Of course, you’ll have to get permission from the owner as it’s currently being offered as a rental. And we’re guessing the co-op board will need to be involved. If you leave it the way you found it, you'll still have a stylish if somewhat linear home in a neighborhood everyone's fighting over.
Have a loook
Full-floor Chelsea co-op combines elegant history, modern luxury–and a private balcony
June 22, 2017

Full-floor Chelsea co-op combines elegant history, modern luxury–and a private balcony

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This two-bedroom co-op occupies a full floor in West Chelsea's Fitzroy Townhouses at 440 West 23rd Street, a grand row of converted 19th century Italianate homes–once owned by Clement Clark Moore–in the neighborhood's historic district. A loft-like open layout frames a balance of 21st century comfort and historic details like high ceilings, hardwood floors and a natural stone mantel above one of the apartment's of two fireplaces. A south-facing private terrace adds the luxury of outdoor space to this urban refuge.
Take the tour
$1.3M Arbor Close Tudor is a reminder of the 1920s ‘garden city’ movement
June 21, 2017

$1.3M Arbor Close Tudor is a reminder of the 1920s ‘garden city’ movement

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Just adjacent to the historic "secret" enclave of Forest Hills Gardens, Queens–a rare planned community founded in 1909–is the even more well-kept secret of Arbor Close. These garden-filled idylls share the same covenant to maintain their early 20th century "garden city" charm. Like its neighbor, Arbor Close consists of 1927-era Tudor rowhouses and apartment buildings with central gardens. Though it doesn't happen too often, one of those rare homes, an elegant, unassuming Tudor at 111-27 75th Road, is for sale, asking $1.275 million.
See more of this charming townhouse
New ArchiMaps app lets you explore cities by their important buildings
June 21, 2017

New ArchiMaps app lets you explore cities by their important buildings

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Because you can never have too many ways to explore a city, a new architecture-based travel guide map app helps make sure you don't miss any important architecture (h/t Curbed). Made by architectural historians, ArchiMaps points out a selection of important works like buildings and bridges. It's currently available for Android and iOS and in four cities–New York City, Chicago, London, and Madrid–so far with more in the works including Los Angeles, Berlin and Barcelona.
Find out more about that building
Brooklyn casual gets colorful in this $2.8M Carroll Gardens townhouse
June 21, 2017

Brooklyn casual gets colorful in this $2.8M Carroll Gardens townhouse

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Starting with a planted front garden of the sort that earned the classic Brooklyn neighborhood of Carroll Gardens its name, this four-bedroom row house at 439 Sackett Street has historic Brooklyn-casual nailed, with charm and warmth throughout–and a bright dose of country caravan whimsy in the kitchen. Built in 1880, this 20-foot-wide home, asking $2.795 million, boasts wide-plank knotty pine floors along with original details like dramatic archways, ceiling medallions, crown molding and ornate stone fireplace surrounds.
Backyard fun, this way
For $2.4M, this sun-filled brick Greenpoint townhouse wraps modern comfort in historic charm
June 20, 2017

For $2.4M, this sun-filled brick Greenpoint townhouse wraps modern comfort in historic charm

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Greenpoint has quietly over the past decade become one of Brooklyn's most livable and lovable neighborhoods; its waterfront location, a diverse family-friendly vibe, proximity to McCarren Park and Williamsburg, and exciting new developments on the way are just a few of the reasons why. Townhouses here are rarer than lofts and condos, but they do pop up for lucky buyers, and this three-story home at 184 Calyer Street, asking $2.395 million, is a move-in ready example. The fully-renovated two-family house with a private garden is comprised of a spacious owners' duplex and a good-sized one-bedroom apartment with its own outdoor space.
Give the G line a try
Magical gardens surround this $775K Alphabet City aerie
June 19, 2017

Magical gardens surround this $775K Alphabet City aerie

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The gardens are open to the public but the views are all yours from this well-configured studio at 257 East 7th Street in the easternmost reaches of the East Village. The block is, as the listing suggests, one of the neighborhood's most picturesque, with a history of community pride by longtime homeowners and a rare eclectic collection of historic townhouses. The verdant Flowerbox building, one of the neighborhood's first and most beautifully-designed luxury developments, is next door, and the East River Park foot and bike path is steps away. This charming studio is asking $775,000.
Get a closer look
Gowanus Canal Conservancy unveils renderings for SCAPE-designed Gowanus Lowlands

Rendering courtesy of SCAPE Landscape Architecture

June 19, 2017

Gowanus Canal Conservancy unveils renderings for SCAPE-designed Gowanus Lowlands

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The Gowanus Canal Conservancy (GCC) has announced the launch of Gowanus Lowlands, a new comprehensive vision for the transformation of Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood and a 'blueprint for NYC’s next great park.' As 6sqft has previously reported, between developers eyeing the pricey parcel of southwest Brooklyn land as Paris on the Gowanus and the city's ambitions to transform the long-embattled area into "Little Venice," all eyes have been on the neighborhood and the once-toxic, steadily improving Superfund canal that anchors it. With an important rezoning on the horizon–the process kicked off last October with meetings to gauge community opinion–passions are running high. The conservancy has identified SCAPE landscape architecture studio to guide the Lowlands vision toward reality.
Find out more
Waterline Square mega-development to get first Cipriani ‘experiential food market’

Two Waterline Square; Image: Noe & Associates with The Boundary

June 19, 2017

Waterline Square mega-development to get first Cipriani ‘experiential food market’

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GID Development Group announced today that the Upper West Side's Waterline Square mega-development will be getting the first-ever experiential food market by the Cipriani family. Located within Two Waterline Square, the new Cipriani food hall will be designed by London-based interior designer Martin Brudnizki. Within the 28,000-square-foot space will be a large-format culinary experience with multiple food and beverage establishments including a market, restaurants, and casual outlets.
Find out more
Mayor announces $1.35 billion plan to create 100,000 new jobs with a focus on the city’s middle class

Image via pexels

June 16, 2017

Mayor announces $1.35 billion plan to create 100,000 new jobs with a focus on the city’s middle class

By
Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced a plan to add 100,000 new jobs to the city's economy over the next 10 years, particularly positions that pay over $50,000 a year, with the intention of shoring up an increasingly hard-to-maintain middle class lifestyle, the Wall Street Journal reports. The city would contribute more than $1.35 billion toward job creation in already promising job sectors, what the mayor referred to as “good-paying jobs,” that pay or lead to being paid at least $50,000 a year. The mayor said at a news conference Thursday, “the job here is to lift the floor for everyone in this city, to make sure that a middle-class lifestyle really is available to everybody.”
Find out more
The Harlem townhouse where Harry Houdini lived is for sale, asking $4.6M
June 16, 2017

The Harlem townhouse where Harry Houdini lived is for sale, asking $4.6M

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If anyone can convince a buyer to part with $4.6 million for a four-story townhouse in an historic and happening part of Harlem, it's a magician. This four-story 18th century townhouse at 278 West 113th Street, on the market for the first time since 1991, has certainly got one in the form of master escape artist Harry Houdini, illusionist, magician and one of the buzziest celebrities of the early 20th century. Houdini–born Erich Weiss, son of a rabbi from Budapest–and his wife, Bess, lived at the Harlem home for 22 years until his death in 1926 (h/t Curbed).
This house is no illusion
Hilary Swank’s picture-perfect former Village townhouse asks $12M
June 15, 2017

Hilary Swank’s picture-perfect former Village townhouse asks $12M

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This historic classic brownstone at 33 Charles Street in the West Village, asking $11.995 million, is the very picture of townhouse charm in a neighborhood that's overflowing with charming brownstones. Adding to the home's cachet is the fact that Hilary Swank lived here with then-husband Chad Lowe from when she purchased it for $3.9 million in 2002 until 2006 when it was sold for $8.25 million (h/t New York Post). The home has been completely updated with central air and new windows throughout and every imaginable modern convenience, though much of its original woodwork has been retained.
See all the rooms of this gorgeous home
1920s Hudson Heights cliffside ‘Pumpkin House’ chops price to $4.25M
June 15, 2017

1920s Hudson Heights cliffside ‘Pumpkin House’ chops price to $4.25M

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You may be familiar with the “Pumpkin House,” the extraordinary 1920s townhouse cantilevered across the cliffs at 16 Chittenden Avenue near Manhattan’s highest point in Hudson Heights. The name comes from the home's Jack-o'-lantern countenance, which bestows motorists along the George Washington Bridge with its anthropomorphic leer. Jack first hit the market last August for $5.25 million, the first time listed since 2011. But still without a buyer, the 17-foot-wide, six-bedroom brick home has a fancy new Sotheby's listing and a lower ask of $4.25 million.
Have a look inside
Tribeca Film Festival co-founders cut the price of their massive Dakota pad to $25M
June 14, 2017

Tribeca Film Festival co-founders cut the price of their massive Dakota pad to $25M

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As 6sqft previously reported, Tribeca Film Festival co-founders (with Robert DeNiro) Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff have been trying to sell their sprawling pad in the storied Dakota since last March, when they listed the 7,500-square-foot combo of no less than four individual units for the suitably vast sum of $39 million. A year and some months later with no takers, the couple, who announced their divorce in 2014–have edited a cool $19 million out of the picture and are now asking $25 million (h/t Curbed).
You might want to bring breadcrumbs for this
$3.95M buys you a four-story townhouse with condo amenities in Dumbo
June 14, 2017

$3.95M buys you a four-story townhouse with condo amenities in Dumbo

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So...a 2,700-square-foot four-story townhouse with a garden and a roof deck, in a cool Dumbo factory loft complex with condo perks like a gym and cold storage? It sounds like the best of all possible worlds to us. And while the $3.95 million price on this "resplendent mix of modern and industrial charm" at 37 Bridge street might be no small sum by any stretch, you're certainly getting the bonus of not having to choose between location, space, or convenience.
See how the place stacks up
9/11 Tribute Museum reopens in new 36,000-square-foot space to tell victims’ personal stories

Image © 9/11 Tribute Museum

June 13, 2017

9/11 Tribute Museum reopens in new 36,000-square-foot space to tell victims’ personal stories

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When it comes to remembering the 9/11 terror attacks, personal stories can be the most moving reminder. The 9/11 Tribute Museum opened in 2006 in a former deli near the National September 11 Memorial and Museum site, intended as a temporary shrine to the victims during construction of the larger museum–and it has grown even since the latter opened. The Tribute Museum offers tours of the rebuilt World Trade Center site led by survivors, first responders, relatives of victims and others with close connections to the tragedy. Crain’s reports that the museum reopened today in a much larger location, slightly further from the memorial but with more space dedicated to victims’ personal stories.
Find out more
This $8.5K townhouse rental is quintessential Upper West Side with parlor-floor panache
June 13, 2017

This $8.5K townhouse rental is quintessential Upper West Side with parlor-floor panache

By
A block from Central Park in Lincoln Square, this 1,850 square-foot parlor floor-through at 52 West 69th Street is the kind of Upper West Side residence that has inspired many a dream of New York City living. Listed as having two bedrooms convertible to three, the $8,500 per month rent seems a bit less daunting when imagined as a comfortably sprawling choice for family or group living.
Get a feel for the space
$1.56M Cobble Hill condo has a garden, rooftop terrace, and laid-back loft style
June 12, 2017

$1.56M Cobble Hill condo has a garden, rooftop terrace, and laid-back loft style

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This bright, loft-like Cobble Hill condo pulls off a pretty neat trick: It’s on the ground floor (giving it a private garden) and it also has the penthouse perk of an enormous skylight and a private roof terrace just above. How is this possible, you ask? The apartment occupies the rear extension of a 25-foot-wide brownstone at 56 Bergen Street, combining penthouse perks and garden level access. The two-bedroom 1,413 square-foot home is at the crossroads of Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene, within walking distance to everything from Trader Joe’s to the Promenade and antique shops on Atlantic Avenue.
Check out the rest
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